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Cables are in the right position. Patch panels are terminated. All slack cables are put orderly in the cable manager. Let’s see what is missing? Well, where should the patch panels and cable managers be? Just lying on the ground? If indeed, the previous efforts for cable management is wasted. Just with a cabinet or a server rack, you can solve the problem. There are thousands of cabinet for different use, but here we refer to the network patch panel cabinet.

Network Patch Panel Cabinets Introduction

We have wall mount cabinets that has the maximum height of 12U and the normal cabinets standing on the ground that can reach to 45U. Unlike the open frame rack which consists of two or four mounting rails (called posts) without sides or doors, the wall mount cabinet is enclosed by SPCC cold roll steel panels and a glass front door to make its inside visible. The side panels can be removed easily for quick access to equipment and cabling. On the top of the patch panel cabinet, there is a cooling vent to ensure smooth airflow, preventing over-heat in it to further protect equipment. It is designed to house the 19-inch standard that is consistent with most patch panels in FS.COM or non-standard network equipment as well as network accessories. The wall mount cabinet is shipped fully assembled and is ready to mount to the wall.

As for the floor-standing network patch panel cabinet, the ventilation can be naturally achieved as the front door is perforated and the top panel is attached with brush guards to prevent over-heating. It has four casters helping with its move. Top, bottom and back cable access openings provide convenient and multiple cable routing choices to and from the patch panel cabinet.

In most cases, we will start with an empty patch panel cabinet, and then install the devices on its front rails from top to the bottle. First comes the cable manager 1, then follows the patch panel 1, cable manager 2, switch 1, cable manager 3 and switch 2, with all the connectors on the back side of the patch panel cabinet. All gadgets ready, we can go on with the cabling. The patch panel here can be fibre or copper patch panel.

The importance of a patch panel cabinet is no less than that of a tiny screw or a nail. And great attention should be focused on it since the patch panel cabinet can support the other device and prevent them from external damages. A solid and durable patch panel cabinet is necessary, which is actually what FS.COM aims at. There are 9U and 12U, two choices for you to meet different application. To ensure the best performance, 1 bag of nuts and bolts, 1 T-Shaped Lever will be offered for free. And there are so many surprises in the patch panel cabinet that I want to leave it for you to find yourselves. You will find them when installing and using the patch panel cabinet from FS.COM.

The patch panel, a significant element in cabling design, has many ports on it. Through these ports, the cables are located elsewhere in your building. Patch panel at present has fibre and copper patch panel(also known as Ethernet patch panel), two choices for us. As we all know, a single fibre optic patch panel is not available to all kinds of fibre cables. The same is to copper patch panels which are classified as Cat5e patch panel, Cat6 patch panel and so on.

CAT5e Ethernet Patch Panel VS. CAT6 Ethernet Patch Panel

Both as the copper patch panel, Cat5e patch panel and Cat6 patch panel don’t have many differences, except that Cat5e patch panel usually works with Cat5e, while Cat6 patch panel can work with both the corresponding Cat6 cable and any earlier generation of Cat cable. The patch panels themselves don’t have many practical differences. However, there is indeed a difference in the wire gauge specified between Cat5e and Cat6. The cat6 wire is thicker in that Cat6 usually has 23 AWG copper conductors compared to only 24 AWG in Cat5e cable.

The 24 port patch panel used for different cables are both welcomed by customers. 24 port cat6 patch panel offered by FS.COM acquires acknowledgments from many customers and IT experts. With easy installation and top-quality performance, the high quality patch panel is designed for Fast Ethernet applications. 24-port Cat5e patch panel is the most popular in the market, which has punch down and feed-through patch panel for customer choice. And when applying patch panels to special environments, for example nearby motors, generators, air conditioners, and even office mainstays such as fluorescent lights and printers, you should carefully consider between shielded and unshielded patch panels.

Shielded Ethernet Patch Panel VS. Unshieleded Ethernet Patch Panel

Shielded and unshielded patch panels are required to match with the shielded and unshielded copper cable applications. Shielded patch panels are designed for high EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) environments. If the application environments have special requirements for crosstalk and EMI functions, especially when the copper cable runs near power cables then you should choose to use shielded Ethernet cables with shielded patch panels. However, someone may wonder whether they can use unshielded patch panel for shielded cable. To be honest, it depends on the environment in which your cable will run through. If the place has no high power electrical wires, you can go with unshielded patch panel. On the flip side, if you are in a noisy environment like using arc welders or near high power radio transmitters, then you’d better select the shielded one. FS.COM shielded and unshielded patch panels can meet not only 1G network speed, but also 10G network.

For both shielded and unshielded applications, you can find what you need at FS.COM. The port number marked on the FS.COM patch panel provides easy cable identification. The cable manager on the rear side is removable, providing efficient and organized cabling.

Conclusion

CAT5e and CAT6 cables are the most popular Ethernet cables on the market. To create a nicely organized cabling environment, choosing the right patch panel is essential. Sometimes Cat5e, Cat6 or other Ethernet cables need to be managed in a single panel, in this type of situation, the blank keystone patch panels can support mixed cabling with installation of different rj45 insert modules. In addition, you can customise your patch panel according to your specific applications. FS.COM provides a large variety of patch panels and Ethernet cable and also presents a selection of cable managers to help you create your ideal cabling network. For more details, please visit our website.

When it comes to punching down Ethernet patch panel, unlike feed through patch panel which provides patching without punching down the wires to the ports, punch down patch panel is a kind of network patch panel that should punch down Ethernet cable on the rear side. On the front plate, RJ45 ports, marked with number for easy identification, can be directly connect Ethernet copper cable. For example, simply punch down the twisted pair cabling in the back of the 24 port patch panel and you are ready to plug in RJ45 patch leads in the front.

Punch down types are available in Cat6 or Cat5e patch panel. Category 6 cables have stricter standards for reducing system noise and avoid crosstalk, much better than Cat5 or Cat3, which means less network interference and better performance. Here comes the question: how to punch down Cat6 into patch panel.

After experiencing myself and watching countless videos performed by others, I summary the procedure into the brief seven steps and hope it can help you when fixing the devices.

First, determine the length of cables you need. Do not overlook this step as it will help save materials as much as possible, though many think the cable is not expensive.

Second, peel the outside protective jacket about 3-6 inches from the cable end with cable stripping tools.

Third, after removing the cable jacket, you should cut off the plastic spine surrounded by pairs as close to the cables end as possible and then separate the wire pairs. Try to straighten the ends so that you can do the termination easily. Pull on the spine and fold the pairs back. Then cut the spine .

Fourth, place the cable wires into the slot on the patch panel. Make sure when you put them in the patch panel, you put them firmly so they don’t move before you punching down. Choose a port on the patch panel to begin terminating. Usually we start with the 1st port. Then insert each wire into its own slot. Don’t leave wires exposed too much or twisted to avoid signal loss.

Fifth, terminate the wires. Once you have all your wires in place, you have to take a punch down tool and punch down the wires into the patch panel. Push down the tool and cut the end of wire off. It is also OK to twist it off. After punching down the wire, your panel is looking nice and clean without surplus wires.

Sixth, inspect the wire. Once you’ve finished terminating the wires, use a cable tester to check if all the wires are correctly terminated.

Seventh, once you are done. Use a clip to prevent wires slipping out by accident.

When the punching down process is completed, you can place the patch panel into the racks with screws. However, any step being missed may result in more or less damage. Be careful and you can make a step list by yourself and mark the steps you have finished to avoid mistakes. Punch down patch panels, Cat6 cables as well as accessories appeared in the process are available in FS.COM. If you still have some difficulties after reading this article, the expertise on our website can help you install our products step by step by remote instruction online.